June Update Email & Fundraising
Novello News: June 2024
The Latest Updates on Our Campaign to Save the Novello Picture House
Dear supporters,
We are delighted to share with you the latest exciting news and updates on our campaign to save Sunninghill’s historic Novello Picture House. There has been a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ activity since our last newsletter, so let’s bring you up to date.
1. Opportunity to purchase the theatre
If you’re a local resident, you may have seen flyers posted by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (RBWM) attached to the pillars at the entrance to the theatre. These state the Novello has been designated an Asset of Community Value (ACV) and RBWM is ready to accept purchase offers from local community groups. Our campaign group has written to the council to outline our intention to purchase the Novello and we have received a positive response which we are taking forward.
2. Donations
We are only in a position to do this thanks to the substantial support and involvement from our loyal supporters and the wider local community. We are delighted to have secured pledges approaching £250,000 from local donors who have, through their generosity, given the campaign the best possible start. It is thanks to this solid foundation that we are confident we will meet RBWM’s asking price of £300,000.
We are also engaged in promising and welcome conversations with other charitable and fundraising groups who have kindly given substantial amounts of their time and energy to exploring possible partnerships with the campaign group. If and when we are in a position to share more, we will send out a mailer to let you all know. In the meantime, a sincere thank you to all involved.
We have set up a website to collect donations for the Novello so if you are interested in offering any support, please visit the donations site or find out more on the fundraising page on our website. Every donation, big or small, counts and makes a difference. We are deeply grateful for any contribution you can make to help us reach our goal and secure the future of the Novello.
3. Additional support
We have also received a number of useful insights from the supporters’ network who have put us in touch with various individuals and groups who are able to offer advice and expertise on either fundraising or renovation. We are working our way through these as we speak!
And we also spent a productive hour on the phone with the ever-helpful Sir Kenneth Branagh who offered guidance that accelerated the next steps of our campaign and will further hone down the future vision and offering of the Novello.
4. Fundraising and awareness
You may have seen members of the team out and about at local events to spread the word and bring new supporters on board. We were lucky enough to be offered pitches at two events organised by the Sunninghill and Ascot Parish Council – the May half-term open air puppet theatre and the marvellous D Day anniversary celebrations.
Both events were fantastically well attended and a wonderful reminder of how lucky we are to live in an area where our local community has opportunities like this to come together. We raised in excess of £400 from these opportunities which is enough to purchase a theatre seat! Every penny counts.
Thank you to the parish council, our core organising committee and to members of the Spotlights Musical Theatre Group who stepped in lastminute to help set up and man the stands!
We will beholding more fundraisers over the next few months including the Outdoor Cinema which is coming to Broomhall Park on 14 September through a partnership with Sunningdale Parish council. Save the date and more info to come! If you can, do follow us on Facebook to be kept up to date with what is happening in the moment.
A huge thanks also to Peter and Alan who have been keeping local media up to speed with what is happening with the Novello. If you are a Freeview subscriber, you may have seen Alan on their flagship That’s TV news show last week and Peter’s update with BBC also resulted in this article.
How can you get involved?
You may be wondering how you can get involved? One immediate ask is to complete the Sunninghill and Ascot Parish Council Residents’ Survey, which helps to shape the Parish Plan for the next 5-10 years. The survey can be found here and is open until the end of July.
We are hoping that our two local parish councils – Sunninghill and Ascot and Sunningdale – will see the potential value to local people, schools, arts groups etc (as well as visiting performers) in buying and restoring the theatre and turning it into a vibrant arts venue and community hub. To that end, we have been in contact with both councils to request that they consider pledging some of their Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding in support of the campaign.
CIL money is funding that is given to local borough and parish councils when development or building works take place in their local area, to support with any expansion or enhancement of local infrastructure (including community spaces). If you are keen to see some of that money go towards the Novello restoration then it is important you register your views in the survey!
Finally, campaigns like this only succeed if you spread the word. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save the Novello and bring it back to life … but we can't do it without you! Please let your friends, colleagues and neighbours know about the campaign by directing them to our website (savenph.org)and bringing them along to fundraisers or public meetings.
Thanks for taking the time to catch up with the latest news.
Yours,
Alan Everett
Campaign Coordinator